TEGUCIGALPA, OCT 12: Honduran Indians will sentence Christopher Columbus for crimes against Indigenous Americans today, 506 years after his "discovery" of the continent.The Indians began a mock trial of Columbus in July on charges of genocide and robbery resulting from the 1492 beginnings of the colonisation of the Americas.
Sentencing will take place today, which is Columbus Day, said Salvador Zuniga, director of the Council of Popular Organisations and Indigenous People.
Many Indians throughout the Americas consider the arrival of Columbus as the start of five centuries of oppression. About 1,000 Indians blocked access to Mayan ruins and other tourist sites yesterday as part of a protest leading up to Columbus Day, authorities said. Last year Honduran Indians had destroyed a Columbus statue.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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